APARIMA SUNK

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 52, 24 November 1917, Page 8

APARIMA SUNK

TORPEDOED IN THE CHANNEL LOST j|p ft pp;ortAßD---; ?'■ The Prime , Minister, received advice .. yesterday rot' the sinking in the Eng-lish-Channel of tlio.:.'U,!iion Steam Ship GMupany's.big^oaVgp'-steamer Aparima. Following' was the'text ofthe cablegram received by Mr. Massey;— • Regret to" adyise Aparima. torpedoed English Channel. Sank in 'five ; minutes. - "Following safely landed:— '-■■';-. >■ 4 ' - Captain Doorly; ■ 3rd Officer Cooper. . Wireless Operator Vipan. Boatswain Johnson. . Seaman M'lntyre. Seaman Fox. • . Seamaji Dwyer. Seaman M'Kiunon. Cadet Anaandale. ■' ■.': Cadet Clayton. • . . . Cadet v Scantlebury. "Cadet D. Williams. Cadet Sutherland. Cadet Murray. . ■Cadet Bevan. ; ■ Cadet Denholra. Cadet. Adams, Cadet Davis. .. » .- Cadet Shakespeare., "■■■" Cadet Millward , . '<*■ 2nd Engineer W. B. Hirst. 3rd Engineer K. A. Sunn. ■■;■;. 4th Engineer H. H.'Barr. ", sth Engineer F. Lemming. ' 6th Engineer J. J. M'Keegan. 7th Engineer H. M. Mays. . . There is thus a total of 27 Europeans saved. Thirty-one- Lascars ■were also saved, and a 6 all the ■ boats are accounted for in the cablegram it is feared there is little hope.for;any further survivors.. The ship if as struck a/ft, and , the explosion was so. severe th&t it is believed it .was account- ' able for.-,the majority, of the casualties. There have been no ohanges in the personnel of the crew since , the vesael left Auckland. It is not-usual to give euch particulars as these regarding the loss of a ship by act of the enemy, but in this case there were such widespread rumours that the ship had been lost • with all hands, that the Prime Miniflter deemed it advisable to make the information public in order to allay ans'eJjy - ...'.'.■ ' * { The Aparima was very well known en this coast for many years, Laving been engaged in the trade from Calcutta to New "Zealand, bringing down from India such products as juto goods, chiefly sacks and woolpacks. She was one of the biggest cargo vessels in. the fleet of the Union Company, being of 5704 tons gross, Her dimensions ■were: Length, 430 ft.; breadth, 54ft.; and depth 28ft., She was bnilt by Denny Bros., of Dumbarton, in 1902, and like air modern steamers was a steel vessel. The ship was used as a transport by the New Zealand Government for the first two years and a half of the war. but the military authorities were of opinion that she was rather slow for this work, and. it was decided sot to,use the-ship any more for -the carriage of troops. When the Defence Department gave up the vessel she was loaded with New Zealand produce End eent to London. In the port of London she was requisitioned by the Imperial Government, and after discharging her cargo she left London for sonio'destin- ■ ation unknown to the ,New Zealand Government. It was when in the English Channel, outward bound on this ■voyage to the order of the British Government, ;that an enemy submarine found her. : . . The .Aparima was used as a-training strip for cadets by the Union Company, and a number of the boys were on board at the-time. It appears from the list; of survivors that. 13 of the boys are among the saved, but it is understood thati the number on thoship was , greater than this. •The directors of.-the-company desiro to express their deep sympathy with the relatives of those officers, cadets, and members of the crew who have lost thpir lives.by this disaster. • There wore, as already stated, i.o troops on the ship, and also there were no passengers.

The Union 'Company states that tho crow of tho Aparima whon she left New Zealand consisted of a master, i officers, 7 engineers, SO. cadets, 2 wireless operators, 7 ablo seamen, 3 stewards (54 Enro-neans); In addition she carried 2 Chinese on deck, 2 lascars en deck, 41 lascars iiv stokehold, 16 lascars as' stewards; total. 61. A grand, total of 115. Of these ■%■ Europeans and 31 lascars were saved, leaving -28/ Euro: peans and 30 lascars missing.